403 Forbidden

Syracuse, N.Y. -- As work continues on cleaning up mercury and other toxins from Onondaga Lake, regulators are now looking at step 2: How to fix the damage caused by decades of industrial pollution.

The public is being asked for ideas on the best ways to compensate the public and the environment for the damage done by pollution. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is one of three governments running the program, has come up with a new form and is asking residents to submit their ideas. (We've scanned in the form below.)

Alma Lowry, an environmental attorney for the Onondaga Nation, said the goal of the assessment is to restore the lake to the condition it would have been in if the pollution had never happened.

"What would this area have looked like if there had not been a release of toxic chemicals?" Lowry asked at a recent FOCUS Greater Syracuse meeting.

Honeywell, which is paying for the $451 million cleanup of the lake, is also on the hook for the damages. There is no cost estimate yet. Polluters in a similar project on the St. Lawrence River paid more than $25 million.

Damages can span a wide range, from calculating how many chicks did not hatch from eggs laid by birds contaminated with mercury to figuring out how many days anglers avoided the lake because of health advisories against eating fish. Projects to restore those losses could include building new habitat for birds and new fishing access sites for people.

Restoration projects must be close to the lake, help restore damaged resources, be likely to succeed and deliver more benefits than they cost.